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Report on Strategies to Prevent the Trafficking of Women and Children who are Vulnerable to Sexual Exploitation

Document number
1070
Date
2005
Title
Report on Strategies to Prevent the Trafficking of Women and Children who are Vulnerable to Sexual Exploitation
Author/publisher
Rapporteur: Christa Prets, Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, European Parliament, Euroepan Union
Availability
View/save PDF version of this document
Document type(s)
EU law, Meeting Documentation/Conference Reports,
Keywords
2004/2216(INI); A6-0400/2005; Motion for a European Parliament Resolution on strategies to prevent the trafficking of women and children who are vulnerable to sexual exploitation
Summary
In January 2006, the European Parliament unanimously adopted the own-initiative report Strategies to prevent trafficking in women and children who are vulnerable to sexual exploitation, drafted by Christa Prets, member from the Socialist Group in the European Parliament.Successful strategies need to deal with the main causes of trafficking. It is however not possible to address the prevention of trafficking through individual action by each Member State, notes the committee. Instead it suggests a holistic and integrated multidisciplinary approach at EU and international level. The committee also calls for research, at national and European level, into the underlying causes, particularly of trafficking in women and children for sexual exploitation, i.e. what factors place people at risk and what factors affect demand for sexual services and sexual exploitation of women and children. Prevention also means looking at the "triangle of trafficking": victim, trafficker and client. The committee suggests practical actions, such as awareness raising campaigns to inform of the dangers and educate the vulnerable members of society in the countries of origin, to alert the public about the problem and reduce demand in the countries of destination. Another measure could be national and international telephone help-lines. MEPs also highlight the need to tackle the tendency to use new technologies, in particular the Internet, for sexual exploitation. To take action against traffickers, the committee calls on the Member States to implement and enforce legislation that would strengthen the prosecution and punishment of traffickers, both natural and legal persons, their accomplices, persons encouraging, arranging or using sexual services from minors and persons attempting to institute such activities and to prosecute the laundering of the proceeds of trafficking. MEPs say a "right of residence" for victims after the traffickers have been tried, which now exists only in Belgium and Italy, could encourage victims to give statements and help secure the conviction of offenders. And the giving of anonymous statements must be allowed in the context of investigations into trafficking.
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